Healing Emotional Affective Responses to Trauma (HEART): A Christian Model of Working with Trauma

The Healing Emotional Affective Responses to Trauma (HEART) Model is an innovative therapeutic technique for counselors to use with clients who have experienced trauma. The HEART Model is a holistic (mind, body, and spirit) approach that uses a Judeo-Christian perspective. Applying this Christian understanding to a standard three-phase model of treatment, it provides counselors with a guided ten-phase approach for addressing trauma: (1) establish rapport; (2) establish a connection to, and anchoring of, relevant memory; (3) process affect; (4) negotiate between adult and child ego states, or parts of self, and deal with cognitive distortions of self; (5) forgive self; (6) become aware of the presence of God; (7) confront cognitive distortions of God; (8) receive forgiveness from God; (9) integrate ego states with the presence of God; and (10) return and refocus with new insight. This article provides counselors with an example of how to use the Model with trauma victims. This article also summarizes implications for counselors and recommends directions for future research.